"Maria" poses for a portrait in Medellín, Colombia. She asked that her face not be shown and her real name not be used to protect her identity and safety as a sex worker. Maria emigrated from Venezuela in 2018 and was forced into sex work in order to pay to bring her two kids to Colombia.

“I know that when they get older, there will be a moment when I sit down with them, and tell them and I hope that they will thank me for everything I am doing,” said Maria.

Jean Parker and her husband Murray are one of more than 30 members living in an intentional community called Blue Heron Farm in Pittsboro, N.C. Every afternoon, when the weather is warm enough and she’s not at her part-time job, Jean swims laps around the property’s pond. Her and the community's late founder were the only members to take advantage of this resource, partially due to the pond's snapping turtles and fish.

"I pray for the waters and the Earth and for people to wake up to steward this Earth."

Lola Olufolabi is co-owner of Exotique, a boutique and art gallery in downtown Durham, N.C., that has been in operation since 2006. She features art from people around the world, with a focus on free trade values and the work of African artists and artisans.

Senior Lemere Jones of Riverside High School football waits in between drills during practice one evening on Oct. 7, 2019 in Durham, N.C.

“This team, more than any other that I have helped coach, has impacted me more that anyone can know,” said head coach Cory Lea. “Even though we didn’t win the conference this year and didn’t finish undefeated, we have changed the culture here where winning is now the expectation.”

A masked demonstrator lights a flare that others quickly ask to be extinguished during the 1-year anniversary for the toppling of Silent Sam, a Confederate monument that stood on the grounds of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for more than 100 years. The anniversary event began with speakers and singers at Peace and Justice Plaza and ended with a march through campus on Aug. 20, 2019.

A crowd gathers on the beach to cheer on one of 20 sea turtles returning to the wild during the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center's release day Wednesday June 5, 2019 in Surf City, N.C.

“We can’t protect them once we put them in that first wave, but they are going home, home to you, and that’s where they should be,” said Jean Beasley, the center’s founder and director, in an ode to Mother Ocean. ”...It has been our privilege to give them another chance at life.”

Riverside High School football players celebrate after defeating Northern High School 27-7 and taking home the Friday Night Rivals trophy Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, in Durham, N.C. This night marks the first time Riverside football has defeated Northern in seven years.

Police officers tackle a counter-demonstrator to the ground at a Pro-Silent Sam rally on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Saturday, September 8, 2018. Silent Sam is a controversial Confederate monument that stood for more than a century until it was toppled by protestors Aug. 20, 2018.